This is another perfect example to use to counter the argument that the T-34 pioneered sloped armour. Especially since a lot of the examples people use aren’t as noticeable as this.

Aside from the lack of a radio, the SdKfz 221 was pretty much the perfect WW2 scout car. It's size, weight, armour and armament are all virtually identical to the post war British Ferret scout car, which had a very long and successful career. With an improved engine and a sufficiently compact radio (something that admittedly did not exist in the 1930s) there really would have been no reason to replace the 221 for light reconnaissance duties, but I guess the Germans really wanted that 20mm cannon.

@TanksEncyclopediaYT

Жыл бұрын

The 222 not only had a different gun, but a whole different chassis. And yeah, it is hard to tell from the outside. We'll cover that at some point

@andreasbeyer7715

Жыл бұрын

@@TanksEncyclopediaYT The chassis of the light 4x4 armoured cars is actually the same for the early type and again for the later type. The main difference is the size of the armoured body. Which was much smaller for the 221 than for 222 and 223. With the 221 lacking firepower the supporting "Kanonen-Wagen" (gun car) became the more important vehicle for the troops after the begin of the war, and took the role. You mentioned there was no radio at all, which is not totally correct. From 1941 on a Fu.Spr.Ger. a with a range of 1km was installed. It would have been good to mention, that behind the commander there was sufficient space for a third person only in case of need. MG 13 may have had a Doppeltrommelmagazin or a curved magazin.

@markopantelic3088

Жыл бұрын

@@andreasbeyer7715Hey Andreas those informations are actually listed in the written article itself. Which you can read fully on our website. But thanks for point out these facts! Author.

@smaragd1238

Жыл бұрын

@@andreasbeyer7715 The first part is correct what you say, however all the other aspects you named are in the actual article on the website

@jon9021

Жыл бұрын

No radio?…pretty much useless then. Doesn’t matter how good it may have been at it’s assigned job.

Other than the lack of even a short range radio, I'd say the 221 was a perfectly adequate reconnaissance vehicle for the 1930's... Well, at least for the conditions of Western Europe. Also, it is exceptionally cute for an AFV, so bonus points there.

Those are my favorites, I just love the lines of the 221 and 251 variants. Half tracks or wheeled. Also good German pronounciation!

I just lost my job as a dump truck mechanic but I will comment and leave a like to help with the KZread algorithm because I truly appreciate these videos.

Wow. I've been watching this channel from its beginning. The overall quality of this video really shines! There's more information, more photos, figures and great narration. Thank-you.

@purpleldv966

Жыл бұрын

Hmmm... I would point out the banging on the table as being in conflict with your impression of quality.

Great job as always guys

Great video, thanks so much for this. Been looking to research this little vehicle for quite some time.

A decent vehicle, should have gone with thicker side armor and the 20 or 37mm gun with machine gun. They always say, "not for front line use" but if it's got a gun or heavy machine gun, it's gonna end up in an infantry support role. Chaos happens and you have to use what you have.

@TanksEncyclopediaYT

Жыл бұрын

Or they could have gone the other way around and not arm it at all. The chassis couldn't have taken a 37 mm anyhow and was not that amazing.

I enjoyed this video well done

Nice vid man. Good job.

Nicely done , thank you for covering a mostly ignored area of military vehicles .

Very well done!

Sick information, thanks

O man I didn't know you had a youtube channel. I'm gonna be watching a lot of your videos in the near future if you have more light armour videos from this era.

Pratically it was a counterpart of the Daimler AC, two man crew, a single LMG, the only difference being the lack of a turret in the British vehicle(at least in early versions).

@23GreyFox

Жыл бұрын

@@obsidianjane4413 Good joke. The Daimler had only 20hp more than the 221 and had only 12.5hp/ton, while the 221 had 19.5hp/ton. And no part reached 30mm, the best i could find was 16mm. Armor thickness was nearly the same on both. Only the fire power was better compared to the 221, but with the 222 even that was not the case anymore.

@23GreyFox

Жыл бұрын

@@obsidianjane4413 Daimler AC and the Daimler Dingo are not the same. He wrote AC, not SC. Your last senseless comment back to you. So much to thinking...

Looks really cool

This was the first Armor Model I ever built

I thought I knew my stuff, wow excellent work 👏🏻

The way this gentleman speaks reminds me of Sheldon Cooper. :)

The Germans had some "forgive the term" sexy vehicles. All the angles and slopes make them look sharp. Funny how the 22's and puma resemble the mine resistant vehicles of today.

@MXB2001

Жыл бұрын

Thanks. Our warships are similarly sexy. However it never did translate to the planes. The one exception being the exceptional 262.

@jimsquire9048

Жыл бұрын

@@MXB2001 I agree. I have models of Scharnhorst, Graf Zepplin, a couple Bismarck's and my favorite Prinz Eugen. I love heavy cruisers. I must also say that I do like some of your planes. The BF 109, FW 190 and HE 111 to name a few. I even admire the blunt "in your face" style of the Stuka. With it's bent wings it must have looked like a bird of prey diving down. It's non retracting landing gear the claws outstretched.

WAIT ... At 10:36 is that a panther with a late panzer 4 turret on it? .. is that a real picture? ... Ps awesome video the 222 is my favorite vehicle from WW2

@TanksEncyclopediaYT

Жыл бұрын

Yes.

@scipioafricanus4328

Жыл бұрын

I read somewhere the panther with the pz4 turret was a one-off field conversion of a damaged panther to a command vehicle. The 222 is one of my favourite as well. Great video on its predecessor.

@JGCR59

Жыл бұрын

Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 653 (normally equipped with Ferdinand/Elefant) was notorious for using weird field conversions used this one as a command vehicle. It also had a Flakpanzer T-34 and used probably the only Porsche Tiger to see frontline service as a Befehlspanzer. The Panther with a Panzer IV turret originated as Bergepather recovery vehicle

A scout car without a radio... 🤷‍♂

Had one of these in 1:35 scale, & also the Sd.Kfz (SonderKraftfahrzeug, Special Purpose Vehicle) 222, both from Tamiya. Hope you'll be doing some history on the 8-wheelers, the Puma especially. 10:00 the 2.8cm rifle was a squeeze-bore weapon, using tungsten shot

The Spähwagen oder Aufklärungsfahrzeuge of the Germans looking out of time, as if they come directly from the future. I love the German design🖖

I feel there is such a need for something similar in this day and age. An armoured car using as much mainstream mechanicals as possible to reduce cost. A performance similar of 55mph-ish and range of 250 miles. A body of similar design that will deflect mine explosions, plus give angled armour protection against incoming rounds. A turret ring that could even include a .50cal or 30mm autocannon or AT missiles. Keeping it with a crew of two will ensure the size isn't too big. Have weight distribution slightly in favour of the rear, so if either of the front wheels are blown off, the vehicle can remain mobile. It would be a highly cost effective and mobile option for many armies of the world.

very nice video! It was a neat scouting car, but the very thin armor was a problem, even in Poland and France, and the armament was at best good to fight infantry. Afaik these were also supposed to be used in combination with the sd kfz 222 and sd kfz 223. But yeah, later on, the sd kfz 222 was favored, as it has the 2cm Kwk and better armor.

@sirrathersplendid4825

Жыл бұрын

The 221 also had a poorer engine than the 222, which made it struggle offroad.

Your German is very impressive! Great channel! Best from Hamburg, Germany

Considering when it was designed and put yo use I'd say it was definitely useful and better than what the Allies were fielding at the time.

From an aesthetics perspective, I think this looks like a great vehicle! 👍

The Beltway Bandits Mat 👍🪘

Good compromise!

I wonder if a racketenwerfer 43 could have been mounted on the sd.kfz.221

@nastypiglosi1788

Жыл бұрын

It was much lighter than the 2.8cm

Was the "universal chassis" part of the development of the "Schelle Program?" The SdKfz 221 seems like a useful step in the development of German armored cars, which bore much fruit as the war progressed. The SdKfz 222 series was much more successful. While the six-wheeled vehicles were not a success, the 8x8 vehicles were quite good.

Very cool video. I'm only now piecing together how much material Germany already lost in invading Poland I'd say like most German designs, it would have been a good vehicle if the war had started ~5 years earlier. They dominated the Spanish civil war but soon after '39 proved they should have already had at least very upgraded models with them, and things like the Stuka had just been entirely nullified outside already controlled airspace which requires the enemy to have zero aircraft in ww2 conditions

@michaelschmid9567

Жыл бұрын

yeah, the Poland campaign was an expensive learning for the Wehrmacht. Lost and learned so much, for example that tanks should not fight inside a city. The Germans also used near all of there munition, what resulted in the "Munitionskriese", and they needed month to produce it. If the French and/or the British would have attacked Germany in these month, the Wehrmacht would have nothing to shoot back.

Why would you ever have a chassis that you want to use universally for scouting and light armored vehicles that has only has only a 75 horsepower engine? Even in the 1930s that's pathetically inadequate.

I think it looks cool

@TanksEncyclopediaYT

Жыл бұрын

It does have a nice aesthetic to it.

2 or 3 of these would be the only armored vehicles of a standard german infantry division at the beginning of the war.

Great video. Any information on the Panther hull with the Pz4 turret at 10:35?

@oddballsok

Жыл бұрын

i am amazed that they serve the same turret ring diameter and pin/racket shape...

@stevesandford7442

4 ай бұрын

Was going to ask the same question...

A show on ww2 armored car tactics in actual practice would be excellent.

It's an oxymoron! Both sonder und leichter! It's two, 2 great spahwagens in one! [Maybe a Reese's peanutbutter cup camo paint job is in order?] 😄

This armored scout car is better than ANY bently

Lovely little vehicle, just needed a smaller and powerful radio. Which did not exist in sufficient numbers.

Since I started my career as a scout using a jeep with an M60 machine gun on a pintle mount, I don't really consider the 221 to be underarmored at all. Significantly better armor than a M151, and a better GPMG as well.

This thing is aesthetic AF

75 hp for 4 tonnes is insane. Im guessing they tried to get as much torque out of it as possible

the arguments for vehicles becoming "obsolete" almost always has nothing to do with their intended role, the best recon is when the enemy didn't even know you were there. almost every armoured car is judged by the fact it's not a tank which is kinda why things like the M8, Daimler and AEC came along (although M8 was a early tank destroyer technically) it's like asking why your 65hp single seat scout plane can't dog fight a BF-109s or shoot down Ju-88s

ZWEIHUNDRED :D Denglish intensified

could such desing reapear to the batttlefield today?

Yes we only produce civilian vehicle … with slight modifications to the body work

I have to admit that until now I had assumed those radio antennas were just hand bars to hold on to over rough terrain. 😳 I guess I never gave it much though but still I’m rather embarrassed.

You’d think it would’ve been faster, given that they mounted the Wankel Rotary engines literally inside the wheels.

This looks formilar... at my grandparents i had a small green armored car... it looks very similar to this, i also had a biger metal tank that looks like a dingaro (apologize for my spelling im not physics capable of improving it.

10:36 Is that a panther with a pz4 turret and gun?

Is this Gruber's "little tank" from Allo allo?

@CZ350tuner

Жыл бұрын

No, Gruber had a SdKfz.222.

@madkoala2130

Жыл бұрын

@@CZ350tuner what's the difference?

@CanalTremocos

Жыл бұрын

@@madkoala2130 222 is armed with a 20mm autocannon and a gunner is added to the crew. Otherwise, basically the same.

Check out 10:36. A panther w a pz IV turret…?

The guy tripping in 11:27 is funny lol

This is the car i would buy if i was rich

My little tank from Lieutenant Gruber.

Seems like it would’ve been a Great recon vehicle and great for causing chaos among the enemy. 😊

Reminds of the Sherman 🤔👍🪘👍

Or as a warthunder player might call it, “baby puma”

It wasn't bad it had its role, how is it different than a up armored humvee ?

Good interim vehicle until the Sdkfz 222 came into service. It only soldiered on for as long as it did because Germany needed everything it could get it's hands on for the war.

That wire mash protection looks rather ineffective. Aside from the fact it does not cover the entire turret roof, what happens if a hand grenade lands on top of the mash without bouncing of it? I guess it can't protect anyone in that case...

@TanksEncyclopediaYT

Жыл бұрын

If it lands on the mesh, it still does damage, but far less than if it had gone inside the car.

@kaineuhauser9353

Жыл бұрын

The Driver survive

@MXB2001

Жыл бұрын

I never knew about the mesh until I saw this video. I'd always thought it was completely open. I guess the mesh was a makeshift solution to the inevitable question people asked when they saw the open top. Grenades? Yeah, yeah we'll put a mesh over it. Happy? : )

@JL-tm3rc

Жыл бұрын

I think the gunner can punch it through the mesh pushing it out

@sirrathersplendid4825

Жыл бұрын

The mesh was tensioned, so very unlikely a grenade or molotov bottle would do anything other than bounce off. The trick would be to aim for the gap at the back. (The gap in the 222 mesh was even smaller.)

As with many vehicles, it was a good vehicle when it was designed. But, like many other vehicles it was quickly overtaken my the frantic rate of development of other vehicles that happens during war. Just look at the five years from the 1940s Matilda I heavy tank, vs the 1945 IS-2 heavy tank. Infact some vehicles were obsolite before they reached the production line.

It's too bad there's not enough history about the 2.8 cms version. Was it a tank destroyer or just a mobile carrier of that squeeze bore gun?

@danielhurst8863

Жыл бұрын

The 2.8 did not last long in combat, as the taper bore was effective at greatly increasing velocity, but this meant the rounds required tungsten, which was in very short supply and was needed for tooling. Past a certain velocity, steel shells will shatter rather than penetrate. It's why depleted uranium is used today.

Ah yes: The Sqeezy Boy

Why would you build a recon car with no radio. That's like the most important part...

@TanksEncyclopediaYT

Жыл бұрын

Because radios were big, fragile, finicky and very expensive. You still need recon, so you have a radio car in the back, send these out, then they come back and report.

@tonyrobinson362

Жыл бұрын

My favourite model to build the 222 thankyou for showing the other side not just the big cats.

no pictures of 221 in DAK ?? huh ???(tamiya)

That would be exciting to hit one of those tin cans with a tank shell from point blank.

I prefer Lt. Grübers little tank.

looks like a brdm.

Furthermore...

“Sd.KFC.222” 💀💀💀

even todays tanks doesnot match style swag power and terror of Tiger tank

I cant put my finger on why the the narrators voice sounds so weird. It sounds like three accents and a mild speech impediment teaming up to do an impression of a droning teacher. Im just gonna say it: "Turr-t" try and unhear it.

Did Hitler try to promote it to the Jedi Council? Someone better get this joke...

the wehrmacht judged these vehicles as ""not suited for front use ", after revieuwing the experiences with the vehicles in russia. it was unreliable, very complicated and hard to repair, and the suspension was very fragile. the 4wheel steering was considered useless, because it was dangerous at speed, and far to heavy to steer at low speeds. (no power steering). read the book of Spielberger about german army armoured wheeled vehicles.

Compromise.

It would have been better with a 20mm autocannon for self defense and radios

@michaelschmid9567

Жыл бұрын

The version with more armor, 20mm autocannon and radio was called Panzer 2. The version with more armor, radio and same gun was called Panzer 1. Oh, they had tracks as well.

@23GreyFox

Жыл бұрын

That became the 222, little bigger, 2cm gun, 90hp engine and with radio. It was a excellent vehicle.

ears really? lol ping ping ping boom!

=AND IT'S WAY MUCH BETTER THAN BENTLEY=!!!!!! =HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE

China is an ideal dumping ground for obsolete and unwanted European and American weapons. Such as the P40 that was already obsolete at the start of WW2. The 221 suit China well, because it is better than anything else they can produce and the really lousy quality of the Japanese tanks. German products also enjoyed a reputation in China for precision and good quality, which lingered on to this day. That's why China bought much of the weapons from Germany. Even small arms, You will always feel unarmed if you are carrying a Japanese pistol rather than a Mauser or Walther.